Bittersweet Future
by MissLevinLover
Summary: "He's never going to be the same, is he?"


_**A/N: New, well kind of new, re-write. This had been bugging me practically since I posted it, but I never had time to edit it, till now. I hope you enjoy!**_

_**Dedicated to my good friends ETNRL4L and the Cretin. Both have helped me so much with my stories. **_

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><p>Ben stared at the two graves in-front of him, the heart wrenching pain he felt as he read over the two names that would forever be etched into the cold marble making him sick to his stomach.<p>

_Julie May Yamamoto _

_Daughter, Friend, Lover_

_And Forever Young_

_Kenneth Ethan Tennyson_

_A beloved son_

_Denied the chance to live._

Kneeling down on the damp grass, he gently placed the bouquet of white lilies he had brought in-front of the two graves. Tears trickled down his pale, sunken cheeks as he thought about how they had been so viciously ripped away from him. How he hadn't even been able to say goodbye one last time…

Her parents had covered up her death pretty well, saying she had died due to complications with the baby. But only a few knew the cruel truth to their statement. He had exploded when he found out the crap they were saying to people to hide their guilt. The confrontation was a messy ordeal; he had screamed at them that they were cowardly murderers, who should be ashamed of dishonouring their daughter by spreading sick lies like that. The deceased girl's mother had burst into uncontrollable tears, her husband a stoic statue. Both too broken inside to retaliate.

Many people sympathised with the hero, thinking it must be hard to lose the two people you deeply cared about. But only 1 person actually empathised with him.

His best friend.

Kevin had lost his father, his role model. The man he shaped his life around. You could tell it still hurt, even after all this time. But he pushed it down and got on with life, and concentrated on all the good things he had. Like Gwen and their child. Something Ben now couldn't even dream of doing.

Dreams were another crushing reminder. She would always be alive, telling him things were going to be okay, that she would never ever leave him. And every single time, he believed her. But then he would open his eyes, and the hard and ruthless hand of reality would slap him in the face and remind him that she was gone. And every time it did, he felt himself die a little more. They were tearing his already shattered heart into pieces.

A shaking hand tentatively reached out; as if afraid the two gravestones would come out and bite him. As his calloused fingers brushed against the engravings, the coldness of them sent a violent chill up his spine.

It just wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that he had been given the power to defeat planet conquering aliens, and yet was powerless to stop two, normal humans, take away everything he lived for. He didn't know what he did to get such a harsh punishment. But he did know, whatever he did, he would take it back in a heartbeat to be able to have her back in his arms, safe and alive.

"I'm so sorry Jules" he sobbed, his fingers curling into a balled fist against the stone. For so long he had being goading himself into thinking he could do this without her, be able to move on in the knowledge she was always looking over him. But he couldn't. Everything he did, everywhere he went, she was there, reminding him of what he had lost. He was slowly and painfully, losing his sanity.

His eye's squeezed tightly shut as images flashed through his mind of the memories he held of her. The good, the bad, the painful. They refused to stop, refused to let him forget. He had caused her so much pain when she was alive, made her feel so alone and unloved. And now Karma was coming around and punching him repeatedly, showing him how it felt to not have the one you love around you.

That pang of loneliness he always got, never left. It was always there, clawing at his already broken heart and spirit.

A harsh wind whipped around him, ruffling his russet coloured locks and sending a second violent chill cascading down his spine. A rumble of thunder could be heard not far off in the distance, a warning from Mother Nature that a storm was heading his way. But he just didn't have it in him to care anymore. What was the point of anything anymore? He had thrown away the Ultimatrix, telling Azmuth that he could go shove it were the sun don't shine. Everywhere he went he was regarded as a monster, a menace to society. He was pretty sure that his family didn't look at him the same way. Even his cousin, she now always regarded him differently, like he was a ticking time bomb that could snap at any given moment.

He continued to sob as raindrops began to cascade around him, making a small patter noises as they landed on the ground around him and on his signature green '10' jacket, staining the bright leather. It was like nature was crying with him over the loss of such a wonderful person, at the pain that her leaving had caused so many people. He felt the sting as the brutal wind and rain attacked his face, melding with the salty tears continued to wash down his face.

Soon the rain was pelting down harder than before, causing his hair to stick to his forehead and clothes to cling to his cold body like a second skin. Thunder rumbled around him, loud enough to drown out his pitiful cries of pain and anguish. Lightning flashed, lighting up the dark sky and highlighting the grief that was written on his pale face as he cried out to the heavens, hoping maybe someone would hear him and put him out of his self-induced misery.

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><p>A few metres away, two figures stood, shielded from the rain by a large umbrella. Both their sorrow and grief stricken eyes were settled on the hunched over figure of Ben Tennyson as he continued to mourn his greatest loss.<p>

"He's never going to be the same, is he?" Gwen croaked, deep red hair whipping around her head as she was battered by the icy winds.

As he stood their watching his best-friend, hearing his pitiful cries of pain over the crashing thunder that echoed around him, Kevin knew the answer to his girlfriend's question, it was heart- breakingly clear.

"No one could ever be the same. No matter how strong…"

The ginger let out a small whimper as tears clouded her vision, her chest feeling as if it was caving in on itself in agony. Seeing the girls renewing distress, the dark haired male wrapped his free arm round her narrow shoulders and guided her away. Back home, back to the place that had been missing three of its occupants.

It would be a month later when they came back to that grave, placing a new headstone beside the others. The words engraved on its surface reminding everyone just how strong love can be.

_Here lies Ben Tennyson. _

_Son, cousin and our hero. _

_Not even death could keep them apart. _

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><p><em><strong>AN: Different ending. Don't ask were it came from, because honestly, not even I know that answer to that question. **_

_**Also, go check out ETNRL4L's amazing stories, they have the power to make you laugh till you cry (I know from experience) **_

_**Sam**_


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